The present invention relates to a structure of an electric vehicle including an engine, an electric generator for being driven by the engine, a battery for being supplied and charged with a generated power at least from the electric generator, and a motor that is supplied with the power from the battery to drive driving wheels.
Conventionally, an electric vehicle is known that has a structure including an engine, an electric generator for being driven by the engine, a battery for being supplied and charged with a generated power at least from the electric generator, and a motor that is supplied with the power from the battery to drive driving wheels.
JP 2006-51943A discloses in FIG. 10 thereof that, inside an engine room, an electric motor is arranged near an engine, a battery as a power supply source of the electric motor is arranged below rear seat(s), and a fuel tank is arranged below a floor under a driver's seat and a front passenger seat.
Further, one type of such an electric vehicle is a plug-in hybrid vehicle having the following features. When traveling a short distance, a battery is supplied and charged with external power, and the charged power is supplied to a motor to drive driving wheels; and, on the other hand, when traveling a long distance, an engine drives an electric generator, the generated power is supplied to the battery for charging, and the charged power is supplied to the motor to drive the driving wheels. In this plug-in hybrid vehicle, as described above, since the engine is driven basically only when the vehicle travels a long distance, the engine can be downsized.
Accordingly, in such electric vehicles, especially in plug-in hybrid vehicles equipped with a downsized engine as described above, it would be desirable when arranging the engine and the electric generator in an engine room to effectively use the space in the engine room and to reduce the yaw moment of inertia of these components.